I suggested during our conference call yesterday that the only friend the Muslim Brotherhood has in high places is Barack Obama. I didn't mean that facetiously.

Turkey's application to join the SIno-Russian Shanghai Cooperation Organization following Prime Minister Erdogan's July 19 pilgrimage to Russia is a diplomatic humiliation for the United States, and of the first order. Just when Washington is demanding that Russia withdraw support for the Assad regime in Syria, and when Turkey is the linch-pin for American logistics in support of the Syrian opposition, Erdogan has proposed in effect to joint the Russian-Chinese club (without being compelled to hand in his NATO credentials). As AL Monitor wrote July 19:

The Erdogan government speaks with confidence when it says that the Syrian issue will have no negative impact on bilateral ties with Russia. In fact, there is an expectation in Turkey that Russia will come to understand that it has erred in its Syria policy and that it is time to abandon its support for a dying regime.

That may be so, but Turkey stands to lose if it continues to portray Russia as a wrong-doer. The bilateral relationship is lopsided in Russia's favor because of Turkey's dependence on Russian natural gas.

Moscow, meanwhile, has quietly signaled that it can use its economic leverage over Turkey.

After the Syrians downed a Turkish jet on June 22, Turkey called on NATO member countries to show solidarity and expressed its intention to intercept Russian vessels delivering cargo to Syria. Six days later, the Russian government's food-safety and quarantine service Rosselkhoznadzor issued an announcement disclosing that it had detected 33 cases of infestation in Turkish exports to Russia of fruits and vegetables.Turkish exports of fresh produce to Russia amounted to $2.6 billion by May and are projected to reach $6.2 billion by year's end.

There is more to it than economics (and much more than Russian economics: the cash-strapped Turks, who are financing most of their enormous current account deficit on the interbank market, probably hope for more Chinese investment).

The fact is that the Muslim Brotherhood and its various offshoots represent a threat to everyone in the region:

The Saudi monarchy fears that the Brotherood will overthrow it (not an idle threat, since the Brotherhood doesn't look like a bad choice for Saudis who aren't one of the few thousand beneficaries of the royal family's largesse;

The Russians fear that Islamic radicalism will get out of control in the Caucasus and perhaps elsewhere as Russia evolves into a Muslim-majority country;

The Chinese fear the Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim people who comprise half the population of China's western Xinjiang province.

But the Obama administration (and establishment Republicans like John McCain) insist that America must support democratically-elected Islamist governments. That is deeply misguided. The Muslim Brotherhood is about as democratic as the Nazi Party, which also won a plebiscite confirming Adolf Hitler as leader of Germany. Tribal countries with high illiteracy rates are not a benchmark for democratic decision-making.

It appears that the Russians, the Turks and the Saudis will keep Syria at a low boil, making it difficult for either side to fully impose its will on the other, and impossible for a Sunni Islamist regime to emerge. What is remarkable, though, is the success of Russian diplomacy: despite all of the Obama administration's courtship, the Erdogan government has decided to signal its dependence on Moscow in the most visible (and, for Washington) humiliating way possible. It may be that the Turks were compelled to apply for membership in the SCO by the utter fecklessness and stupidity of American policy, both of the administration and of the Senate leadership. As long as the United States declares its support for the humbug of Muslim democracy in Egypt and Syria, the rest of the world will treat us as hapless lunatics and go about the business of securing their own interests without us.

If Russia can prevent Zer0 and the Marxist Rats from using Turkey as a proxy aggressor supporting the Muslim Brotherhood's insurrection in Syria, Zer0 and the world Caliphate are in serious trouble. Note that the Russians are using their economic clout as the primary "weapon" to convince Turkey. They probably learned it from Reagan.

The Kenyan Muslim may panic and phony up a fictitious Syrian Tonkin Gulf incident to justify an attack on Assad, Russian or Chinese assets.

War for election day, the Chicago way.

4
posted on 08/01/2012 10:21:34 AM PDT
by Navy Patriot
(Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)

Oddly enough, I suspect the Russians and Chinese are doing a lot more to defend our real interests that the Regime is. If there's ever been a conflict we should STAY OUT OF, it's the one in Syria. Let's cook a lot of popcorn, sit back, and sit while the Mudslimes butcher each other.

Oddly enough, I suspect the Russians and Chinese are doing a lot more to defend our real interests than the Regime is.

From appearances, Russia and China are operating in the interest of stability, which is in the interest of Russia, China, normal American productive taxpayers, Israel, and lots of other people on the planet.

Just not in the interest of the Muslim Brotherhood, World Caliphate, Marxist Utopians, or fundamental changers and wealth redistributors.

Russia will profit by building their economy and asserting more control on the petro energy market, China by resourcing more petro energy and raw materials with an eye toward Chinese "factory cities" in emerging nations.

Both the Russians and Chinese see that we will be poor competitors if they can help us keep Obama and the Rats in charge, yet disable Obama's intended World Caliphate, the biggest danger to their smooth rise to world economic dominance.

If there's ever been a conflict we should STAY OUT OF, it's the one in Syria.

Egypt, Libya, Algeria, as well. Russia and China learned, Zero is running out of luck.

7
posted on 08/01/2012 11:26:22 AM PDT
by Navy Patriot
(Join the Democrats, it's not Fascism when WE do it, and the Constitution and law mean what WE say.)

Thanks Zionist Conspirator. But our top story is, Romney clearly favors our ally Israel over our enemies surrounding Israel, which shows he's just not ready for the big chair. No, really, *ask any Demwit*, and while you're at it, ask them what their FR nick' is.

the only friend the Muslim Brotherhood has in high places is Barack Obama. I didn't mean that facetiously. Turkey's application to join the Sino-Russian Shanghai Cooperation Organization following Prime Minister Erdogan's July 19 pilgrimage to Russia is a diplomatic humiliation for the United States, and of the first order. Just when Washington is demanding that Russia withdraw support for the Assad regime in Syria, and when Turkey is the linch-pin for American logistics in support of the Syrian opposition, Erdogan has proposed in effect to joint the Russian-Chinese club (without being compelled to hand in his NATO credentials).

Spengler is absolutely wrong here. Turkey under the Islamic Welfare Party’s Erdogan is not anti-Muslims Brotherhood. Turkey all but went to war to help the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda take Syria. It armed teh rebels, gave the sanctuary, and provoked a border clash. the Gullen Movement and AKP only differ with the Muslim Brotherhood over which Islamist group gets to create and lead the new Caliphate. The AKP want ti to be in Instanbul again, and the Arabs in the Muslim Brotherhood look to Jerusalem, if not Mecca.

The analysis draws poor conclusions in my opinion. The Turkish leadership is part of the AKP which is in itself an off-shoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. I don’t think the fear of the MB or Obama’s support for them has anything to do with the Turkish stance.

What they see around them is a Europe that is falling apart, doesn’t have enough money to buy the stuff that Turkey is manufacturing, let alone being able to invest in the next generation of defense infrastructure that can protect Turkey. On the other hand, the Chinese (especially) and the Russians are offering access to markets, oil and gas and more reliable alliance than NATO and the west which happily sunk Egypt into chaos.

Iran has no connections to Al-Qaeda you might mean Hezballah. No, I mean Al Qaeda, the successor of MAK, the ideological fussion of Qutbists and Wahabbist Jihadis. Had I meant the Shia Party of Allah, I would have said so. Go look up Al Qaeda and Iranian links. Iran gave Al Qaeda and the Taliban IEDs and other munitions in Pakistan. Shia and Sunni Jihadis will work together. Are your aware of Iranian funding for Hamas and the Al Qaeda affiliated Palestinian Islamic Jihad?

Saudis=AlQaeda no matter will it kill its masters or not. Al Qaeda includes ARabs from Saudi Arabi and other Wahabbists. But it does not include members of the Saudi clan.

1991 late or 1992: (SUDAN) al Qaeda and Iranian operatives held talks that resulted in an informal cooperation pact providing support for action against Israel and the US. As a result al Qaeda personnel traveled to Iran & received explosives training.

1998 or later : () The Taliban’s Mullah Khairkhwa opens backdoor relations with Iran after dustup over the Taliban slayings of visiting Iranian diplomats in Mazar el Sharif.

May 2001 : () one of OBL’s sons meets with Iranians at a tehran air base

before 9/11/2001 : () “Muscle hijackers” for 9/11 attacks transit through Iran and Beirut Lebanon on their way to the US

2001 : () AQ operations chief & explosives expert Atiyah Abd al Rahman, who had helped assemble the cell for the 9/11 attacks, moves into Iran and becomes AQ’s emmissary to Iran; he is also a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and al Sunnah

2005 - 09 + : () Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil is an AQ facilitator living in Iran moving money and recruits into iran and then on to Pakistan

2007 : () Iranian C-4 is found in a captured AQ cell’s suicide jackets in Afghanistan

2009 : () A Bin Laden son and 3 other AQ operatives live and operate from base in Iran

...there is an expectation in Turkey that Russia will come to understand that it has erred in its Syria policy and that it is time to abandon its support for a dying regime... but Turkey stands to lose if it continues to portray Russia as a wrong-doer. The bilateral relationship is lopsided in Russia's favor because of Turkey's dependence on Russian natural gas...

Erdogan's even less competent, but even more popular, than Zero is here.

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